Circa 1906 - Printed by Hudson and Kearns Printers, London - First Edition

‘A short account of the further development of the greatest improvement which has ever been effected towards the comfort of ocean travellers’.Elaborately produced record of the S.S. Kaiserin Auguste Victoria's maiden voyage from Hamburg to America, especially notable for its onboard Ritz Carlton Restaurant.

‘The man responsible for the interior design was the French architect Charles Mewès, who introduced the à-la-carte restaurant on the high seas. staffed and run by Auguste Escoffier himself, with dedicated kitchens were staffed and run by Caesar Ritz, this was the first time that diners were offered an alternative to the first class dining saloon, but where the meals in the dining saloon were included in the ticket-price, passengers had to pay a special admittance fee when dining in the à-la-carte restaurant. Ironically, this fee could cost the same as a one-way ticket in third class.

A near fine and thus rare copy of this lovely work, which features twenty five tipped-in black and white photographs of the ship and it’s interiors, including the dining rooms, state room, and smoking room, as well as prominent sites in Hamburg and New York. More details

Price HK$ 3,000

1919 - The Irving Press, New York - First Edition

Rare art-deco work, magnificently designed and illustrated in wood blocks by the ‘Master of the Modern Wood Engraving’ John J.A. Murphy, the sixteen award-winning plates present the New York Ritz Carlton in all it’s glory, including the Crystal Ballroom, the Japanese Tea Garden, Dining Room and Grill Room, Palm Court, Smoking Rooms, and Roof Garden. With an additional loose letterpress announcement for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Atlantic City.

Born in Boston, Murphy began his art training at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and then the Art Students League in New York. He received the bulk of his printmaking training in London, where he he worked in Frank Brangwyn’s studio at Hammersmith, and was later acclaimed for his work. He came back to the US in 1919, after serving in the army. In 1921, his work was included in the exhibition of Modern American Wood Engraving at the New York Public Library. In a review of the exhibition in the New York Times, Murphy’s work was singled out as “the strongest and most original”. More details